It is the second devastating blow to the Coventry and Warwickshire car industry in days.

On Friday, the Telegraph revealed 500 staff were losing their jobs at Jaguar LandRover sites at Gaydon and Whitley.

The Aston Martin jobs blow will hit the company’s factory at Gaydon, and follows a fall in sales. The union Unite said it was devastating news. And the jobs gloom deepened last night with Atherstone-based TNT announcing jobs were going.

ALMOST a third of the 1,700 Aston Martin staff employed in south Warwickshire are facing a bleak Christmas after the economic downturn claimed another victim.

The luxury car maker is shedding 300 temporary and a further 300 full-time staff at Gaydon.

Aston Martin said it had started consulting with trade unions on a range of cutbacks to reflect the downturn in the world economy and the corresponding fall in car sales.

A statement issued by the firm said: “It is hoped to do this by minimising the impact on employees as far as possible, but the possibility of up to 300 permanent and a similar number of temporary job losses cannot be ruled out.”

Chief executive Dr Ulrich Bez said: “Like other premium car brands, Aston Martin has been forced to take action to respond to the unprecedented downturn in the global economy. These are regrettable but necessary measures in the extraordinary market conditions we all now face.

“Overall, we remain confident that the Aston Martin brand is the strongest it has ever been. We remain well positioned for the upturn in the economy.”

Unite’s national officer Dave Osborne said: “This is devastating news for our members who have made major contributions to the Aston Martin brand. They now face a bleak Christmas.

“Unite will be working to maximise voluntary redundancies and we will vigorously oppose compulsory job cuts.”

Aston Martin sold 110 cars in the UK in October compared with 164 in the same month last year. Sales last year were 7,300 but are expected to be 6,500 this year.

It is the second time this year Aston Martin has cut jobs at its Gaydon plant after up to 60 temporary workers were made redundant in June.

The firm said last week it would be extending its Christmas break for workers for two weeks until January 19 as the economic situation worsened and demand fell.

Last week, the Telegraph reported that about 500 of the 850 Jaguar LandRover agency staff in the West Midlands who had been told they wouldn’t have a job after Christmas were based at the Whitley site in Coventry, and Land Rover’s Gaydon HQ, in south Warwickshire.

Car accessory retailer Halfords last night announced plans to shed around 250 jobs. The specialist chain said approximately 200 posts would be cut across its network of more than 450 stores, along with 50 more at its head office in Redditch, Worcestershire.

Workers for Woolworths and MFI in Coventry and Warwickshire were also told last week they could face redundancy.

Delivery firm TNT set to cut staff

MORE jobs are being lost across Coventry and Warwickshire after delivery giant TNT announced redundancies to deal with the economic downturn.

The Atherstone-based firm has confirmed that selective redundancy packages are being implemented at many of its UK depots – but refused to be drawn on how many people will lose their jobs.

An announcement was made last week informing workers of the changes – which also include measures to drive down their company costs such as a reduction in the use of external contractors.

A spokesman for TNT said: “TNT believes the UK economy and the express delivery sector in particular is facing one of the sharpest downturns in decades.

“As a result, TNT is taking decisive action now to counter the negative trends it is seeing within its business in order to put it on the strongest possible footing for 2009 and beyond.

“The company will put in place a package of measures designed to drive down costs and improve efficiency, which will inevitably and regrettably include selective redundancy programmes.

“In addition, the company will seek to make substantial cost savings through reducing expenditure on travel, accommodation, conferences, meetings and corporate hospitality.